This slightly slimy but colorfully dappled critter was named the official state amphibian of South Carolina in 1999 by then-Governor David Beasley. This stemmed from a persistent and relentless campaign led by third-grade teacher Lynn K. Burgess and her class at Woodland Heights Elementary School in Spartanburg.

- When threatened, these docile creatures produce a poisonous toxin from their back and tail that also tastes terrible to prey, but is merely a mild skin irritant to humans. 

- Happily, the spotted salamander is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a species of least concern. Yet, as with so many other wild flora and fauna, humans pose the worst threat. Loss of habitat from development is one factor.  Also, the Palmetto state’s formally recognized amphibians run the risk of being run over by vehicles, especially when they cross roads to reach their breeding grounds. Spotted salamanders return to the same breeding area each spring.

- Named for the two rows of yellow (and occasionally orange) spots running from their heads down their backs, the spotted salamanders’ bright dots are sharply contrasted by the amphibian’s dark-colored exterior, which serve as a warning to predators.

- Elusive and mostly nocturnal, they can be found in underground burrows, and beneath heavy leaf litter and rotting logs located near ponds and shallow, seasonal wetlands. They usually measure around seven inches in length, but some have been known to reach nine inches.